Kangas win big despite missing stars

A dominant second half has led North Albany to a comfortable 105-point win over Albany at Centennial Stadium on Sunday.

After a hotly contested first half with the Sharks down by 39 points at the main break, the Kangas’ superior fitness showed as they piled on 10 goals to one after the break to run away with a 20.20 (140) to 5.5 (35) win.

Before the bounce the Kangas lost a swag of key players with Matt Orzel, Luke Cameron, Nathan Dovey, Dom Knight and Ray Padfield among the omissions.

However, last year’s premiers were able to cover their losses with a number of colts and reserves players filling the void.

North Albany controlled the play for long periods in the first half but the Sharks moved the ball with purpose on the counter-attack and were able to make the most of their opportunities with Shaquille Narrier causing headaches for the Kangas backmen.

The third quarter proved costly for the Sharks as the Kangas piled on six unanswered goals to take an 81-point lead into the last quarter.

The Kangas finished off strongly with four goals to one in the last quarter.

Jake Becroft finished with five majors while Corey Hitchcock chipped in with three playing through the middle, while Jack McPhee and Grant Corcoran were also strong contributors for the Kangas. Narrier finished with four of the Sharks five goals while Jordan Oldfield used the ball well all day, and debutant Fraser Eaton showed promise in defence.

Kangas assistant coach Matt Baines was pleased with his side’s ability to stick to their game plan.

“All in all it was a good win considering all the outs we had,” he said.

Sharks coach Scott Sedgwick said his side faded after a positive start.

“We were very competitive in the first half but we butchered the ball after half-time and sprayed it going forward,” he said.